OSU Institute of Technology’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee is offering a speaker series from a wide range of industries to interact with students and give them real-world information about what diversity and inclusion look like in today’s workforce.

Representatives from OGE Energy Corp. will speak at the first scheduled event on Friday, Feb. 28, at 11:30 a.m. in the Chesapeake Energy Natural Gas Compression Training Center.

“As OSUIT fosters the development of diversity, equality and inclusion, we want to ensure that we provide a well-rounded view of workforce standards while emphasizing the importance of diversity and inclusion on our campus and within our communities,” said Lisa Currington, co-chair of the OSUIT Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Molly Peters, director of workforce planning and development; Scott Briggs, managing director of human resources; and Al Velazquez, business process improvement consultant from OG&E will visit the OSUIT campus and provide students with an idea about corporate recruitment of minorities as well as fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

The idea behind this speaker series is to begin to offer perspectives from people currently in industry to counteract those ideas and provide a real-world picture.

Peters has over 25 years of professional human resources experience with more than 23 years at OGE Energy Corp. Her experience spans fields such as marketing, finance, accounting, information technology and multiple disciplines within Human Resources. Over the span of her career with OG&E, she has been involved in numerous culture and diversity initiatives.

Peters holds an M.S. in Management from Southern Nazarene University and a B.S. in Human Resources with a minor in Computer Science from Oklahoma State University. She holds many Human Resources and Business certifications and is a Salvation Army Board member, an OSU Business Employee Advisory Board member, and a State Special Olympics Venue Director.

Briggs serves on the CEO Roundtable, oversees all HR functions, and partners with leaders throughout the company on various culture initiatives. 

Before joining OG&E, Briggs worked for The Oklahoman Media Company for 15 years in various leadership roles including vice president of Human Resources, vice president of Administration, and chief operating officer. Before that he ran a small, regional human resources consulting company and practiced labor and employment law at McAfee & Taft in Oklahoma City. Briggs earned his business and law degrees from the University of Oklahoma. Briggs is also a Board Member and Past Chair of Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma.

Velazquez holds a bachelor’s in management from Southeastern Oklahoma State University and a master’s in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. He is certified in Lean Six Sigma, Quality Management and Organizational Change Management. He started his college career in a vocational-technical institute then went on to complete an associate degree and is now working on his Ph.D. in Organizational Change and Development. Velazquez served in the U.S. Air Force and has experience with DoD Federal Service, Oil & Gas, Energy and Higher Education.

“We hope students begin to understand corporation expectations and promotion in terms of managing, hiring and working for a company that supports a diverse and inclusive workforce,” said Dana Sterling, co-chair of the OSUIT Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Communications instructor.

This speaker event is part of a larger speaker series that will continue through 2020. The committee is anticipating four events this year, with the next one being hosted by the Culinary Arts program.